Governor Quinn Appeals FEMA Denial of Federal Assistance for Cook County Local Governments

SPRINGFIELD – October 21, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today appealed the federal government’s denial of assistance to local governments in Cook County, saying federal assistance is necessary to help affected communities recover from severe storms and flooding that devastated the area in late July.

“Nearly three months after this devastating flooding, many communities in Cook County are still struggling to replace or repair roads, schools and other critical facilities,” said Governor Quinn. “These communities can’t do it alone – they need this federal assistance to help get them back on their feet.”

On Sept. 13, Governor Quinn’s request for federal assistance to local governments was approved for seven counties affected by a series of storms in late July and early August. However, at the same time, Cook and five other counties were denied federal assistance. Since being notified, staff from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) has worked with local officials in the denied counties to determine if there was any additional information that would support an appeal.

Over the last month, IEMA learned that several communities in Cook County had additional flood-related expenses and asked FEMA to assist with a second Preliminary Damage Assessment. The assessment identified nearly $1.4 million in additional flood-related costs to local governments in Cook County. This information was submitted along with today’s appeal letter from Governor Quinn.

“We worked closely with FEMA and local officials in Cook County to document the additional expenses that support this appeal,” said IEMA Interim Director Joe Klinger.

In addition to seeking assistance for local governments, Governor Quinn successfully secured federal assistance for people and businesses in seven northern Illinois counties affected by the storms and flooding. Since that assistance was approved on Aug. 19, more than $278 million in federal assistance grants have been approved to help people with storm-related costs. In addition, nearly $35 million in low-interest loans have been made available to affected people and businesses in the seven counties.

Additional information about the state’s storm response efforts is available at www.Ready.Illinois.gov.